| title | description | ms.date | helpviewer_keywords | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Running NMAKE |
Learn about running NMAKE. |
09/30/2021 |
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NMAKE[option ...] [macros ...] [targets ...] [@command-file ...]
NMAKE builds only specified targets or, when none is specified, the first target in the makefile. The first makefile target can be a pseudotarget that builds other targets. NMAKE uses makefiles specified with /F, or if /F isn't specified, the Makefile file in the current directory. If no makefile is specified, it uses inference rules to build command-line targets.
The command-file text file (or response file) contains command-line input. Other input can precede or follow @command-file. A path is permitted. In command-file, line breaks are treated as spaces. Enclose macro definitions in quotation marks if they contain spaces.
NMAKE options are described in the following table. Options are preceded by either a slash (/) or a dash (-), and aren't case-sensitive. Use !CMDSWITCHES to change option settings in a makefile or in Tools.ini.
| Option | Purpose |
|---|---|
/A |
Forces build of all evaluated targets, even if not out-of-date compared to dependents. Doesn't force builds of unrelated targets. |
/B |
Forces build even if timestamps are equal. Recommended only for fast systems (resolution of two seconds or less). |
/C |
Suppresses default output, including nonfatal NMAKE errors or warnings, timestamps, and NMAKE copyright message. Suppresses warnings issued by /K. |
/D |
Displays timestamps of each evaluated target and dependent and a message when a target doesn't exist. Useful with /P for debugging a makefile. Use !CMDSWITCHES to set or clear /D for part of a makefile. |
/E |
Causes environment variables to override makefile macro definitions. |
/ERRORREPORT [ NONE | PROMPT | QUEUE | SEND ] |
Deprecated. Windows Error Reporting (WER) settings control reporting. |
/F filename |
Specifies filename as a makefile. Spaces or tabs can precede filename. Specify /F once for each makefile. To supply a makefile from standard input, specify a dash (-) for filename, and end keyboard input with either F6 or CTRL+Z. |
/G |
Displays the makefiles included with the !INCLUDE directive. For more information, see Makefile preprocessing directives. |
/HELP, /? |
Displays a brief summary of NMAKE command-line syntax. |
/I |
Ignores exit codes from all commands. To set or clear /I for part of a makefile, use !CMDSWITCHES. To ignore exit codes for part of a makefile, use a dash (-) command modifier or .IGNORE. Overrides /K if both are specified. |
/K |
Continues building unrelated dependencies, if a command returns an error. Also issues a warning and returns an exit code of 1. By default, NMAKE halts if any command returns a nonzero exit code. Warnings from /K are suppressed by /C; /I overrides /K if both are specified. |
/N |
Displays but doesn't execute commands; preprocessing commands are executed. Doesn't display commands in recursive NMAKE calls. Useful for debugging makefiles and checking timestamps. To set or clear /N for part of a makefile, use !CMDSWITCHES. |
/NOLOGO |
Suppresses the NMAKE copyright message. |
/P |
Displays information (macro definitions, inference rules, targets, .SUFFIXES list) to standard output, and then runs the build. If no makefile or command-line target exists, it displays information only. Use with /D to debug a makefile. |
/Q |
Checks timestamps of targets; doesn't run the build. Returns a zero exit code if all targets are up to date, and a nonzero exit code if any target is out of date. Preprocessing commands are executed. Useful when running NMAKE from a batch file. |
/R |
Clears the .SUFFIXES list and ignores inference rules and macros that are defined in the Tools.ini file or that are predefined. |
/S |
Suppresses display of executed commands. To suppress display in part of a makefile, use the @ command modifier or .SILENT. To set or clear /S for part of a makefile, use !CMDSWITCHES. |
/T |
Updates timestamps of command-line targets (or first makefile target) and executes preprocessing commands but doesn't run the build. |
/U |
Must be used in conjunction with /N. Dumps inline NMAKE files so that the /N output can be used as a batch file. |
/X filename |
Sends NMAKE error output to filename instead of standard error. Spaces or tabs can precede filename. To send error output to standard output, specify a dash (-) for filename. Doesn't affect output from commands to standard error. |
/Y |
Disables batch-mode inference rules. When this option is selected, all batch-mode inference rules are treated as regular inference rules. |
NMAKE reads Tools.ini before it reads makefiles, unless /R is used. It looks for Tools.ini first in the current directory, and then in the directory specified by the INIT environment variable. The section for NMAKE settings in the initialization file begins with [NMAKE] and can contain any makefile information. Specify a comment on a separate line beginning with a number sign (#).
NMAKE returns the following exit codes:
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | No error (possibly a warning) |
| 1 | Incomplete build (issued only when /K is used) |
| 2 | Program error, possibly caused by one of these issues: - A syntax error in the makefile - An error or exit code from a command - An interruption by the user |
| 4 | System error — out of memory |
| 255 | Target isn't up to date (issued only when /Q is used) |